The last twelve months have seen a complete transformation of the political situation in Britain. The simmering anger and resentment which had been building up in Britain for years (if not decades) has now broken to the surface. Help support the work of Socialist Appeal in fighting for Marxist ideas by donating to our Festive Fighting Fund today!
The last twelve months have seen a complete transformation of the political situation in Britain. The simmering anger and resentment which had been building up in Britain for years (if not decades) has now broken to the surface. Help support the work of Socialist Appeal in fighting for Marxist ideas by donating to our Festive Fighting Fund today!
In Scotland, the complete rejection of austerity and establishment politics manifested itself in a wave of mass support for pro-independence parties and the SNP in particular, culminating in the SNP sweeping the board in the May General Election.
This dramatic change in the Scottish political landscape was swiftly followed by the historic victory of Jeremy Corbyn in the Labour leadership elections. After decades of right-wing domination and despondency in the ranks, over 250,000 members, supporters and party affiliates voted for the most left-wing leader the Labour Party has ever had.
However, these incredible events are only a foretaste of the power of the masses when they move into action.
As we have often explained in the pages of Socialist Appeal, we live in the most turbulent period that humanity has ever seen – a period of sharp turns and sudden changes, with instability at every level: economically, politically, and socially. All of the attempts of the ruling class to maintain the status quo serve to further destabilise the situation.
In Europe, a temporary stand-off with the Greek government threatened the collapse of the Eurozone, and with it potentially the entire European project.
Having managed to beat and blackmail the Greeks into submission, the European powers were rapidly faced with an even greater crisis as over one million Syrians and other displaced peoples flooded into Europe. The ongoing conflict between EU member states over the question of who is to take all of these migrants will only become more acute in the coming year and may well result in the break-up of the EU as we know it.
Added to that, the barbaric murder of 129 civilians in Paris by ISIS has already given an impetus to right-wing nationalist propaganda, as well as to the hypocritical sabre-rattling of the imperialist leaders. The war in Syria and the attempt of the major powers to contain it only serves to expose further contradictions, as the shooting down of a Russian plane by Turkey demonstrates.
In Britain, the current civil war being raged in the Labour Party is a struggle of the utmost importance for the working class. Despite his historic mandate to lead, Corbyn is utterly isolated within the Parliamentary Party, and the right-wing will use any means at its disposal to discredit and eventually oust him. The current furore over his stance against the bombing of Syria is testament to that.
Socialist Appeal supporters have energetically intervened in this struggle, raising the demand for the members to be able to decide on the direction and composition of their party through deselection, as well as standing steadfastly against the suspension and expulsion of left-wing party members by the bureaucracy.
Already, our ideas are gaining an echo in the party, particularly the youth. At the founding conference of the newly-formed Labour Young Socialists, the Marxist Student Federation (MSF) participated as the largest organised force, and two of our comrades were elected onto the leadership. Early next year, we will attend the national Young Labour conference, and four of our comrades are standing for positions on its National Committee on a revolutionary socialist program.
It is essential that we continue to take part in the fight to defend Corbyn, whilst putting forward a bold socialist programme, based around the ideas of Marxist. For this reason we would ask all our readers to take the call to “Defend Corbyn! Fight for Socialism!” into their local Labour Party and the wider labour movement.
Our work in university campuses and the student movement continues to go from strength to strength also. In several areas, our presence on campus has doubled and the MSF continues to expand into new areas such as Liverpool, Leicester, Swansea and Norwich.
We should all be proud of the work we have put in this year. There is an enormous potential for us to build the forces of Marxism in the coming years; but to do that we will need to build up the resources required to be able to adequately follow up all the opportunities in front of us.
Already this year we have managed to raise almost £22,000 towards the 2015 Fighting Fund target of £25,000. This includes excellent collections at our National Conference and for the International Marxist Tendency’s world school, demonstrating the tremendous spirit of revolutionary sacrifice amongst our supporters.
We are therefore now appealing to our readers to make a donation at this festive time of year to help us meet our 2015 Fighting Fund target and take the work of the Marxists in Britain forward.
Please donate generously today, and help us meet the target by raising money locally and approaching those sympathetic to our revolutionary cause.
Bank details for BACS transfer:
- Socialist Appeal Supporters Club
- HSBC
- Sort code: 40-01-18
- Account number: 5184 3176
Cheques, made payable to Socialist Appeal Supporters Club, can be sent to:
PO Box 50525, Poplar, London, E14 6WG
